Indicator for card tables



Feb. 13, 1934. w. SMITH IND ICATOR FOR CARD TABLES Filed June 6, 1932 2 Sheets-Sheet l Feb. 13, 1934. w. SMITH INDICATOR FOR CARD TABLES Filed June 6, 1932 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 MSULA r/m/ Patented Feb. 13, 1934 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE 1 Claim.

The object of this invention is to provide an inexpensive, simple and easily manipulated signal or indicator for card tables whereby the trump suit will be clearly noted so that each player may 6 be kept aware of the trump suit without disturbing the other players, notwithstanding he may be careless or indifferent in his observance of the rules of play. Many card games require a trump suit to be named or turned with each deal of the cards before the hands may be played and players frequently forget which is the trump suit and have to be reminded or ask the other players for the information. The present invention provides upon a card table a visible indicator whereby the 16 trump suit, whatever it may be, will be always visibly made known. The invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawings and will be hereinafter first fully described and then more particularly defined in the appended claim.

In the drawings, Figure 1 is a plan view of a card table having my improved indicator applied thereto,

Fig. 2 is a bottom plan view of the top of the card table,

" Fig. 3 is a transverse section on the line 3--3 of Fig. 2,

Fig. 4 is a detail perspective view of the battery and the parts associated immediately therewith,

Fig. 5 is a diagram of the electric circuits on the table.

The card table may be of any approved form and includes a top 1 of some light firm material which will have a smooth surface, rails 2 upon which the top is secured and legs, not shown, se-

1 cured to the rails for supporting the top. The

legs may be rigidly secured to the rails or may be hinged thereto so as to fold into a compact form when the table is not in use, if so desired.

In carrying out the present invention, an open- 4'0 ing is made in the top of the table, at the center 15.0 similar pips 6 are displayed upon the upper surface of the table top and preferably in the same order or relation as the pips upon the pane. Upon the underside of the table top beams '7 are secured and these beams may be of any approved 125 form, one beam being provided at each side of the display opening and the beams extending entirely across the table to be secured at their ends to the rails 2, as will be understood upon reference to Fig. 2. Adjacent the ends of the central sight opening, cross bars 8 are disposed between 00 and secured to the beams 7 and hangers or brackets 9 of any approved form are secured to the cross bars and serve to suspend therefrom a bar 10 which is disposed below and centrally of the sight opening, as will be understood upon reference to Figs. 2 and 3. Upon this bar 10 are mounted sockets or holders, indicated at 11, in which are fitted small lamps 12 which may conveniently be such electric lamps as are employed in small electric flashlights now in common use. The lamps are so arranged as to be directly under the pane 3 and each lamp is directly under one of the pips 5 so that when any one lamp is energized the corresponding pip above the lamp will be illuminated. At that side of the table where the pips 6 are located, a slot 13 is formed through the rail 2 and a plate 14 of insulation is secured over said slot, a series of contacts 15 being mounted in said plate or bar and each contact being connected by a conductor 16 with one 30 of the lamps 12, as will be understood. As best shown in Fig. 2, two of the conductors 16 may conveniently be carried across the underside of the table top directly to the beams 7 where they are anchored upon metallic plates 17 which are secured upon the beams and project beyond the inner edges of the same while the other conductors 16 are secured upon the inner side of the adjacent rail and then carried across to similar plates 18 which are secured upon the beams 7' adjacent the opposite end of the sight opening. The inner ends of the several plates 1'7 and 18 are extended and formed into reduced fingers, as indicated at 19, which are bent laterally and engaged with resilient contact plates 20 secured upon the bar 10 which supports the lamps. From each contact plate 20, a conductor 21 extends to one side of one of the lamps, the other side of all the lamps being connected to a common return conductor 22, as shown in Fig. 2. The conductorm 22 is secured upon the underside of the bar 10 and extends to one end of the same where it is carried to the top of the bar and firmly attached to a contact plate 23 which, in turn, is electrically and mechanically connected with a contact plate or bracket 24 secured upon one of the beams '7.

A small battery 25 of well-known form is provided and is placed in the angle formed by one of the beams 7 and the adjacent cross bar 8, as shown clearly in Fig. 2, and a spring finger 26 is secured? no upon the other beam '7 and bears against the side of the battery so as to hold it firmly against the cross bar 8, as will be understood upon reference to Figs. 2 and 5. The bracket 24 has secured to its underside an arm 2'7 which may conveniently be formed of a wire strand doubled upon itself to provide parallel side members and having its free ends held against spreading by a clip 28, as shown clearly in Fig. 4, and one end of this arm is bent downwardly, as shown at 29, to bear firmly against a terminal of the battery. A similar arm 31 is mounted upon a metal plate 32 secured upon the opposite beam 7 and this arm 31 has its downturned end 33 in contact with the terminal 34 of the battery. A conductor 35 extends from the plate 32 to the adjacent rail 2 of the table and is secured upon said rail in any convenient manner so as to extend along the same to the meeting side rail and thence extend to a binding post 36 which is secured through the bar 14. A metal bar or guide 37 is supported at one end on the binding post 36, and, at its other end, upon a suitable bolt or screw passing through the insulating bar 14, the guide bar 37 being held in spaced relation to the insulated bar, as clearly shown. Mounted upon the guide 37 is a slidable contact 38 which may be readily moved along the guide and set at any desired point of the same. This contact is adapted to ride over the contacts 15 and when in electrical engagement with any one of said contacts will energize the corresponding lamp 12. As the slide rides over the successive contacts, the corresponding lamps will be successively energized and de-energized, but only the lamp below the pip indicating the trump suit will be left lighted, as will be understoodv From the foregoing description, taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, it is thought the use of my device and its many advantages will be at once understood and appreciated. After the trump suit has been determined, the slidable contact 38 is shifted until it is alined with that one of the pips 6 which indicates the trump suit, whereupon the lamp under the corresponding pip 5 will be lighted and the pip illuminated so that the trump suit will be indicated visibly as long as the slidable contact is not moved. The device is exceedingly simple and will not add any appreciable weight to the usual card table and will not interfere with the manipulation of the cards. The arms 27 and 31 which engage the battery terminals are held by set screws 39 inserted between the sides of the arms so that their heads will engage over the arms. The arms may thus be adjusted both longitudinally and pivotally to accommodate batteries of various sizes so that it will not be necessary to put the table out of commission in the event that the battery becomes exhausted and another battery of the same size is not available as any other available similar battery may be substituted. l

Having thus describedthe invention, I claim:-

An indicator for card tables comprising a playing surface having a transparent plate disposed centrally thereof and having card pips displayed thereon, the entire playing surface around the transparent plate being opaque and devoid of surface projections, a battery supported beneath the playing surface, lamps arranged adjacent the transparent plate and each disposed to illuminate one of the pips on the plate, there being a row of opaque card pips disposed adjacent one edge of the playing surfaceand corresponding to the pips on the transparent plate, electrical connections between the battery and the several lamps including longitudinally and pivotally adjustable arms engaged with the respective terminals of the battery, and means interposed in the electrical connections and arranged opposite the opaque pips for selectively closing circuits through the lamps. 115

WILLIAM SMITH. EL. 5.] 

